Pharaohs, Priests, Magicians and Magical Gates
by Magician Girl Mirani
Summary: On Halloween Xander wears a VERY different costume. Come and see what effect this will have on the universe! This story will probably contain SLASH and the rating may go up later. Hiatus for now.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Yu-Gi-Oh, Stargate SG-1 or any other fandom that might appear in this fic. If I did then I wouldn't be writing this would I? You guys should also know that it wouldn't be worth sewing me. The only thing I got is my computer, myself and a pair of mismatched socks ;)

**Summary: **During Halloween Xander dresses in a VERY different costume. What will come of it!

**Warnings: **I would just like to say this now. There is a high chance that there will be SLASH in this fic. If this upsets/offends you then no one is forcing you to read this fanfiction. I understand if this upsets people and I won't take offense if people tell me that they don't like it. Just don't flame needlessly. There might also be some Buffy Bashing. The extent of this will depend on the readers. If you guys say I'm being too hard then I'll lighten up a bit and vise versa. The point is that there will have to be a little bashing at least so if you don't like this then hit the back bottom. Again, no one is forcing you to read this. It's entirely your choice!

Also, this fic is gunna be posted on both .net and .org. So don't' be surprised if I make some reference that you don't get cuz it's from the other site. Just wanna get that outta the way.

**Mirani: **Hiya guys! Welcome to my very first fanfiction. My name is Mirani and I would like to introduce my Yami, Kiara

**Kiara: **Hello.

**Mirani: **Is that all you're gunna say to our readers?

**Kiara: **Yes.

**Mirani: **What crawled up your ass?

**Kiara: **-glares- none of your business Hikari so just get on with the fic already.

**Mirani: **-holds up hands- okay, okay! Sheesh. You don't need to be a grouch about it! Sorry about Kiara folks. She gets a little moody this time of day, or is it month?

**Kiara: **-death glare into the ground attack!!!-

**Mirani: **RUNAWAY!!!!!

_-o00o-_

**Prologue**

**Some place with Janus**

Janus, the supposedly all knowing god of chaos was NOT having a good day! First the PTB (powers that be) came up to him and _asked_ that he keep out of the affairs of their slayer. They suspected him of breaking their prophecy about the death of the slayer. It wasn't his fault that one of the Slayers friends got involved. Those bastards just didn't' like to be surprised was all. He hadn't done anything to disrupt the Slayer line recently. The last time he did anything near the Slayer was eight hundred years ago when a Slayer was threatening one of his charges. It hadn't been his fault but the idiots just couldn't leave it alone. There they went again. They treated their champions like pawns or tools. Janus did NOT approve of this, not one little bit. That one confrontation with the PTBs had ruined his day completely. They really knew how to kill a mood without even trying or maybe they did. It was hard to tell with them.

Next came Ethan Rayne. The barely half trained chaos mage wanted him to grant his power so he could pull a _prank_ in essence on Sunnydale. The power that he was being asked for would be enough to wipe out a city and Rayne was going to use it on _Halloween Costumes! _The man truly did not have any sense. It would create chaos, that was true but there would be no purpose to it. Janus was not just the god of chaos. Chaos came from change and was not good or evil. Chaos without good was carnage and that was something that Janus did not want.

He was on the verge of denying Rayne's request when an idea entered his mind. He may be forbidden to meddle with the Slayer but the idiots didn't say anything about the girls' watcher or friends.

Janus had had his eye on the Harris boy and Rupert Giles for a while now. When Giles was younger he had called upon Janus a few times for help and definitely had the potential to be a great chaos mage. The boy on the other hand had already shown that he was resourceful and smart. He had gone into the Masters chamber with the souled vampire Angelus and thwarted the PTB's precious prophecy and in Janus's mind any kid that could do that had earned a reward. Yes, he would help them.

The souled vampire and the Gypsy techno-pagan would be a good addition as well. Angelus may have some issues but in the end the PTB wanted him and that was reason enough for Janus. He didn't want the vampire falling into the hands of those over controlling bastards. Jenny Calendar/Janna Kalderash would also be a large help to the group. She was smart and would be a great help to them during research or for knowledge. She might also be able to help Angelus with the happiness clause of his curse. Once it was discovered they would hopefully do all they could to prevent the demon Angelus from resurfacing. There was no way in Hell Janus wanted the demon lose again.

When you really thought about it the curse was very poorly thought out. It punished the soul for the actions of the demon. Not to mention the last thing the demon would want is for the soul to be happy. Who ever thought up the curse was truly short sighted in Janus's opinion. Janus had a strong suspicion that the PTB had something to do with the curse in the first place. A little whispered word here, a hint there and bam! One souled and guilt ridden vampire, prefect for manipulation. That was it, he'd made his decision. He would help them and he'd need Rayne to do it.

**Ethan Rayne's Shop**

**Sunnydale**

Ethan Rayne bowed before the statue of Janus and began the prayer necessary to summon the god and ask for his help.

He had originally come to Sunnydale because he was drawn by the power of the Hellmouth. Every creature with even the slightest amount of magic in their veins was drawn to a Hellmouth. This seemed like the perfect place to cause some chaos.

He had scouted out the area and found the perfect place. This Halloween would be a night to remember. As if that wasn't enough he had just found out that the Slayer was in town. If he could get her into one of his costumes the chaos it would cause would be unimaginable!

He finished the prayer and looked up. At first the bust did nothing but then the eyes began to glow a golden yellow and a shadowy figure appeared behind the statue. There were no distinguishing features to the figure, it was cloaked in shadow but even so Ethan could feel the power radiating from it. Janus had answered his call.

-o00o-

Mirani: Okay, I know that the prologue is REALLY short and probably lame but it was kinda last minute cuz I had to take care of some changes to the fic and it wouldn't make sense without some kind of beginning so this came out. Don't' worry. Every chapter after this will be a lot longer, I promise.

Kiara: She's tellin' the truth there folks. She was up for hours last night working on the first chapter.

Mirani: Yeah, I've still got a headache from staring at the screen for so long.

Kiara: Anyways, if your curious then head on towards the next chapter. It'll get a lot more interesting from here on in.

Mirani: Yeah, hope you guys like long chapters!

Both: BYE!!!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Me: Hi guys! This is the second chapter in my fic. Well, I guess it's technically the first chapter since the last one was a prologue but you get the idea.

Kiara: Just get on with it.

Me: No need to be grumpy.

Kiara: I'll decide if there is need or not.

Me: And is there need?

Kiara: Yes, yes there is.

Me: If you say so.

Xander and Angel: Just get on with the fic!

Me: Okay, okay, don't have a cow you lot. What's got your pants in a knot? Well, you heard them, let the chapter begin!!!"

_-o0o-_

**Chapter 1: Conversations and Costumes**

-o00o-

Xander let out an annoyed groan as light seeped through the drawn curtains and landed on his face. He _hated_ mornings! Letting out an aggrieved sigh he rolled over and turned off the alarm on his old beaten clock. Grumbling to himself, Xander pulled on an old pair of faded blue jeans and a light blue shirt. It wasn't what he usually wore but he was getting tired of constantly wearing the bright Hawaiian shirts. They just didn't seem to fit him anymore.

He finished pulling on his shoes and looked around his room. It was the same as ever, his comic books neatly set apart from everything else which was pretty messy. His comic book collection was the only thing that he was able to keep clean and organised. He picked up his bag and headed down the stairs as quietly as he could. His parents were probably passed out drunk like always but it wouldn't be good to wake them up this early in the morning. Tony Harris wasn't pleasant on the best of days and when he had a hangover it was best to stay as far away from him as possible. It was still a mystery to Xander why his parents were still together really. There wasn't anything left of their relationship and a divorce would probably solve a lot of problems.

He made it out of the house without making any unneeded sound and headed towards the school. It didn't take him long to reach the building and he saw Buffy and Willow entering just ahead of him. They hadn't noticed him yet and he really wasn't in the mood to talk to them right now so he quietly followed behind. Lately the friendship Xander had had with Willow ever since pre-school had been failing. They had been growing farther and farther apart. Willow spent a lot more time around Buffy now then she did with Xander; it was like she was replacing him and Jesse with Buffy. Xander had to admit that it hurt a little. They had been best friends ever since the yellow crayon incident but if Willow was happier with Buffy instead of him then he wouldn't stand in her way.

He'd noticed that they had been pushing him to the side lately, trying to keep him out of the fight. He thought he understood why they were doing it. They wanted to protect him. He was the average guy, they guy that brought the donuts and the guy with no superpowers. They must think he was useless. He really couldn't blame them for thinking like that but it still hurt that they would push him to the side like that without even asking him how he felt about it.

As Xander entered the school he saw Snyder in the hallway, grabbing random kids and making them sign a clip board in his hands. He belatedly remembered what day it was, October 30th, the day before Halloween. He guessed that Snyder was making the students _volunteer _(please not _very_ heavy sarcasm here) to watch over the kids this year. It had been a tradition in Sunnydale for as long as Xander could remember. The kids from the high school would look after a bunch of rugrats for a few hours while they went trick-or-treating. He really didn't fancy having that pushed on him today so he swerved into a nearby corridor to avoid meeting up with Snyder. As he made his way down the corridor he could hear Snyder exclaim "_Summers!" _which probably meant that he'd cornered Willow and Buffy.

The day passed slowly, far too slowly for Xander's liking and it was finally lunch time. Xander wasn't feeling that hungry so he just grabbed a sandwich and a piece of fruit from the cafeteria and headed straight for the library while tucking into the cheese sandwich. He reached the double doors soon and pushed them open. The library wasn't that crowded. There were a few kids scattered around the room, either near the shelves or sitting at the tables. He made his way past them and headed towards Giles who was talking to Angel in the corner of the room, as far away from any sunlight as possible.

"Hay Giles, hay Angel," Xander said, unconsciously slipping out of the 'goofball' personality he kept up whenever he was with anyone other than these two. Xander felt that he could trust them more than anyone else, even Willow in some ways. He'd shown sides of his personality to these two individuals that no one else had seen, not even Willow or Jesse. For as long as Xander could remember he'd always been the goof, the tag-along, the guy that made the stupid jokes and he'd kept to that. He'd built up a kind of wall around himself, pretending to be what everyone always saw him as instead of who he really was. Giles and Angel were the first people to actually see through his mask. It had scared him at first, to know that others knew who he really was but after a while he'd grown to appreciate it, to appreciate the friendship they provided. To everyone else it seemed like they barely tolerated each other but when they were alone they were very close. Xander thought of Giles as a father, he was certainly more like a parent then his own father. Angel and turned into a good friend after Xander had gotten over the whole jealousy thing. He saw Buffy more as a sister now and the idea of dating her freaked him out a little so that hurdle was taken care of. Plus, he had a strange feeling that even if he was in a relationship with Buffy that it wouldn't end well. He couldn't put his finger on it but he just had this feeling that it wouldn't end well for either of them.

"Good afternoon Xander," greeted Giles warmly.

"Hay Xan," said Angel.

"Anything interesting happening with you two? Any apocalypses I need to know about?" Xander asked them.

"No," replied Giles. "The vampire and demon population are usually quiet around this time. They never surface on Halloween."

"Why's that?" asked Xander, genuinely curious. "I thought this'd be their favourite time of the year. I mean, they could go out and no one would give them a second look. Why stay in?"

Angel shrugged and replied, "Halloween makes a lot of demons uneasy for some reason. The demon in me hates it."

"I suspect it's because Halloween has some religious ties to it like Christian and Celtic," replied Giles.

"Really?" queried Xander. He didn't think Halloween was that important? It was a lot of fun sometimes and it gave people an excuse to dress up but he'd never pictured it like that.

"Yes," replied Giles. "I won't go into it right now though. I have a feeling you didn't come here for a history lesson. How has your day been so far?"

"Not too bad," Xander admitted. "It's been going really slowly though and I've been dodging Snyder all the time."

"Why's that?" asked Angel curiously.

"He's been trying to get me to _volunteer_ to take some kids out trick-or-treating this year. He's already roped Willow and Buffy into doing it and I'm trying to avoid it."

"Well it looks like your luck has just run out because here he comes."

Xander whirled around and saw Snyder in the doorway, clipboard in hand and a satisfied smirk on his face.

Snyder made his way over to the three making students flee from him as if he was Satan himself. Xander silently reflected that that couldn't be too far from the truth. The little troll was evil enough.

"Got you now Harris! Thought you'd get out if it did you? Well not this year! I bet Halloween is a big night for you, egging innocent people's houses and whatever else you have planned?" Before Xander could respond Snyder continues "Not this year though! This year you will be escorting the children trick-or-treating. I won't take no for an answer! Summers and Rosenberg have signed up so you won't be alone."

"Sounds like a lot of fun," Xander said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. "But I promised Giles I'd help out in the library tomorrow."

"Oh no you don't! You're not getting away that easily." Snyder turned to Giles and continued. "This year the faculty has decided that they wish to take a more active role in the festivities. I'm sure that Rupert here would love to take care of some of the children. Isn't that right? You do seem to love children so much, which is the reason you are working at a school library. I'm sure you'll be great with them."

Giles looked halfway between indignant, shocked and there was something else that Xander didn't recognise. He wasn't sure what it was but at that moment he didn't really care. Giles's face was priceless! Oh, if only he had a camera! This was excellent blackmail material he was missing!

Angel seemed to be thinking the same thing as he let out a chuckle that drew Snyder's attention away from Giles. Snyder fixed his beady eyes on Angel and studied the vampire.

"And who are you?" Snyder demanded.

"This is Angel," said Giles quickly before either Angel or Xander could say anything. That was probably a good thing as Xander wasn't sure he trusted his mouth right about now. "He has been assisting me in the library and has been a great help. In fact," Giles got a decidedly mischievous smirk on his face at this point "I'm sure that Angel would love to help with Halloween this year. He was just telling Xander and I that he was sorry that he would have to miss it. I'm sure he wouldn't mind looking after the children for a few hours."

Xander let a large grin spread across his face. The thought of dark and brooding Angel looking after a bunch of little kids was something Xander was sure he wasn't going to miss.

Angel sent Giles a glare that could have pealed fresh paint from a wall but the Brit ignored it. This was far too good an opportunity to pass up.

Snyder studied Angel, like he was weighing him up. It kinda freaked Xander out a little the way the man was staring at the vampire but he forced himself to ignore it.

"Well," Snyder contemplated. "I suppose that could be arranged. You seen to be friendly with Harris and that's not a good thing in my book so if nothing else it might save some people the hassle later. Alright, all three of you sign here."

Snyder shoved the clipboard under Xander's nose and with a heavy sigh he signed it. Giles and Angel did the same. Xander idly wondered what Angel said his name was. He highly doubted that just 'Angel' would work but he didn't ask.

Once all three signatures were on the clip board Snyder turned to exit the library.

"Just so you know, the time was been moved from four O'clock to six O'clock. Some people thought it might be more enjoyable for the children to be out when it was late at night, the darkness making it more fun for them or something so there will be no need for students to leave early to get changed."

Snyder turned around and headed straight for the library doors. Xander let out a sigh or relief. It could have been worse.

"Oh!" Snyder said over his shoulder just before exiting the library. "You have to dress up in costume this year. You three will be obligated to go in matching costumes. I can't wait to see them."

Once the troll was gone Xander let out a small stream of curses, just loud enough for Giles to hear. Angel didn't have any trouble hearing him as he was his extra sensitive vampire hearing.

"Normally I would reprimand you for your language but I have to agree with you this time," Giles said. "I swear that bugger gets worse every day!"

Angel nodded in agreement. "Do you think anyone would miss him if he was dropped into a vampire nest?"

"I don't think that would work," Xander told the pair. "A human Snyder is bad enough! Can you imagine what a _vampire_ Snyder would be like?"

The three of them thought about it for a minute then Xander and Giles shuddered and Angel made a face.

"I really did not need that image in my mind thank you Xander," Giles said, a disgusted look on his face.

"Well, let's just be glad he's human right now. What are we going to do about the costumes? Thanks to Snyder we have to dress up _and _match!" complained Xander.

"That does pose a problem," Giles replied, rubbing his chin in thought. "I suppose we could look in that store, what was the name? 'Party Town' and see if there is anything there but I highly doubt it. The costumes there are mainly for teenagers and children. I highly doubt there will be anything for Angel or myself."

Xander thought for a moment before he replied, "There is a new shop that opened earlier this week. I heard that they've got a great selection and it's not just kids stuff. They've got group costumes too so there might be something there. I can go and look after school. I'm pretty sure I can find something"

Giles and Angel gave Xander a look.

"What?" Xander asked them.

"I don't like this idea," stated Angel.

"Nor do I," agreed Giles.

"Why's that?"

"Knowing you we'll probably end up dressed as some sort of comic character." Said Giles

"Wearing a completely ridiculous costume," continued Angel.

"That will embarrass us for the rest of our proverbial lives," added Giles.

"And probably any afterlife we might have," finished Angel.

Xander looked between the two of them. The three of them sometimes did that. He had to admit that it was a little weird, them being so different and all but they still knew each other so well. He was willing to bet that if they did that kind of thing in front of Buffy or Willow then they would either faint from shock or just sit there, looking at them like they belonged in the funny farm. He brought his mind back to what they had actually said and let out an indignant sound.

"It won't be that bad!" Xander told them. "Besides, I'm the only one that can go. The shop shuts as five so Angel can't go or we'd have to find a costume for a pile of dust and Giles can't go because he's working late since Buffy is patrolling tonight. Who else is gunna go?"

Angel and Giles had to admit that he had them with that argument. Xander was really the only one that could get the costumes. That didn't mean that they had to like it though.

"Fine," sighed Angel. "_But_ there are a few rules."

"Alright," replied Xander, unfazed.

"First of all, _no_ comic characters _whatsoever_!" stated Giles firmly.

"Not even Batman?" asked Xander, giving Angel a meaningful look.

"No!" Angel replied, looking slightly annoyed. "Second rule: nothing that will make us look ridiculous. You can pull it off but we can't so don't even think of getting something that you know full well we won't wear, that includes characters from Scooby-doo."

Xander let out a mental huff. Why did Angel always have to spoil his fun? It would have been great! They could have even gotten Buffy and Willow in on it too, with Angel as Scooby of course. It would have been great!

"Fine," Xander agreed reluctantly. "Anything else?"

Giles took out his wallet and handed Xander a bundle of money. Xander looked surprised until Giles said, "It's for the costumes. I can't expect you to pay for them all and it is only fair that I buy my own. Use whatever money is left over for yourself."

Xander was about to protest but Giles gave him a look and he quickly shut his mouth. He knew better than to argue with 'the look'. It was even tougher then Willow's 'resolve face' and that was saying something. He took the money from Giles gingerly and put it in a pocket deep in his bag. He wasn't taking any chances with it. There looked like a lot of money in there and he didn't want to lose any.

Just then the bell rang for fifth period. Xander let out a put upon sigh and turned to head for the door.

"I'll head straight for the store after school," he told the pair. "I'll try and find something that meets your approval."

The vampire and the librarian said their goodbyes and Xander headed for his first afternoon class, math. Let the horrors begin again!

-o0o-

Xander let out a relieved sigh as the final bell rang for that day. He was surprised that the last few classes had passed so quickly but he wasn't complaining.

Xander exited the school building and spied Cordelia talking to her group of sheep. Sure on the outside he tolerated her and goofed off around her but on the inside he was keeping a tight hold on his temper. Cordelia had been the Bain of his –and several others- existence since first grade. She had always acted above everyone else, treating the people that she saw as 'uncool' like they were beneath her. Xander personally thought that it was the other way around.

He turned to the right and gave them a wide birth. He wasn't in the mood for Cordelia and her sheep today. The sooner he found decent costumes the sooner he could get back to the library for his lesson with Giles.

The secret lessons with Giles had started about two months ago. First it had just been an extra session where Giles would help Xander catch up on work and offer him advice and help where he needed it. After a while it had progressed to Giles teaching Xander things like Latin, Greek and a few other languages. Xander knew that he was in no way fluent in any language, hell he sometimes felt that he wasn't even fluent in English and that was his first language! Giles assured him that he was doing well though and had progressed to showing him the basics of sword fighting. According to Giles he would be no use on patrol if he couldn't defend himself properly. He was looking forward to the lesson tonight; he was actually going to get to have a practice fight with Giles!

Xander continued walking, lost in thought, letting his feet guide him to the right street of their own accord.

The shop didn't look that big from the outside but it was well cared for. There was a large sign over the door with the word '_Ethan's' _written in large black letters on a dark green background. (I'm makin' the sign up. I've never seen it before) It seemed to be rather busy from where he stood but he guessed that there was less chance of him being noticed in a large crowd so he headed for the door and entered.

Xander noticed immediately that the store was in three main sections: girls, boys and themed. Most of the costumes in the girls and boys section were costumes that were worn separately, like ghosts and vampires and witches plus the odd ghoul or werewolf. The themed costumes looked more interesting to Xander though. Already he had spotted a Darth Vader outfit and a Luke Skywalker costume. He thought briefly of making Angel dress as Vader, Giles as Obi-Wan and himself as Luke but dismissed it. He somehow doubted that Angel would want to dress up as a Sith Lord, even one that had turned good in the end.

He made his way towards the themed costumes and began to look around. There certainly was a big selection. He noticed characters from comic books, novels, films and many other things that he wasn't sure about. He had just passed a display of '_Power Ranger_' costumes when something caught his eye.

Every set of costumes had a banner above them, telling people what they were from. This display lacked that. The display contained four very different costumes. Three were clearly meant for males while the other was definitely feminine. Xander approached them for a closer look.

The first costume was on the dummy furthest to the left. It contained a black long sleeved shirt, black trousers, a white trench coat cut off at the shoulders to show the black sleeves and flared out near the waist, pretty much defying gravity the way it was staying up, eight buckle-strap things (two for each arm and two for each leg) They were attached on the upper arms and lower legs and two strange cuff things around the wrists that extended up the arm a little. (One for each arm) There was also a set of boots, a cool looking belt with a holster that looked like it held a deck of cards and a strange device on the left arm. The costume was clearly meant to be worn by someone that was quite tall, taller than Xander anyway. He studied the shape of the clothes and the height. It looked just about the right size for Angel. Xander also spotted a set of contact lenses by the dummy. He picked them up and looked at them. The tag said that they would turn the eyes a dark blue.

Xander moved onto the next costume. The dummy was about his height or maybe a little shorter, he wasn't that sure. The costume had a short sleeved black/dark grey top, a blue jacket that flared slightly giving the impression that if thrown over the shoulders could be used as a cape, dark trousers, boots, a belt like the one on the other costume and another device like on the last costume. The costume also had a choker around the neck as well as bracelets. Xander had to admit that it was a pretty cool outfit. There was something hanging around the neck that made Xander pause. It looked like gold, solid gold. The gold caught the light that shone on it and magnified it then sent it straight back. There was a large symbol on the front, the eye of Ra or Horus if he remembered correctly. History had never been one of his best strong points. He was pretty sure that the symbol was Ancient Egyptian though; there was no doubt about that. There were contact lenses with this outfit too. He read the card and raised his eyebrows. Depending on the light they would either turn your eyes red or an amethyst blue colour.

Xander moved onto the next costume. Compared to the others it looked pretty strange. The costume was almost entirely purple, strike that. The only thing that wasn't purple was the green staff in the dummy's hand. The costume was clearly some kind of wizard or magician robes. The large pointed hat was a good indication too. Over the robes there was a small armour chest plate that looked light-weight but strong. In the left hand of the dummy was the before-mentioned staffs. It looked pretty long. The costume also came with a pair of boots and another set of contact lenses, this time a greeny-blue.

Now Xander came to the female costume. The idea of any female in this outfit was almost enough to make Xander blush. The costume was a light blue colour and didn't really cover that much. There was a hat similar to that of the previous costume perched on the head but there was a little slit where it looked like hair would be visible. The costume had a short pink cape like attachment at the back and a pink skirt like thing around the waist. The boots came up to just below the knees. There was a small collar like thing around the neck that looked like it was made of gold or some kind of substitute. At the front there was a pentagram in light and dark green. The same image was in the centre of her chest as well. There were also a set of gloves with the outfit as well as a short staff. It wasn't as impressive as the last staff. It was light blue and at the end there was a small spiral of gold/yellow, whatever it was. Again there were contact lenses. This time the lenses were a deep emerald green.

Xander stepped back and admired the effect. The costumes truly were magnificent. The detail and the apparent craftsmanship was nothing short of incredible. If only there was someone that would wear that other costume.

"Hi Xander."

Xander whirled around to find Jenny Calendar standing behind him. He felt his heart thudding against his ribcage as he tried to catch his breath. Xander noticed that Ms Calendar looked pretty amused at his reaction.

"Don't do that! Are you _trying_ to give me a heart attack before I reach twenty?!!!"

"Sorry," she replied, clearly not meaning it.

"What're you doing here Ms C?" Xander asked his favourite teacher.

"I'm looking for a costume," she replied.

"Snyder?" Xander enquired

Ms Calendar nodded and began to study the costume behind Xander.

"Interesting outfits," she commented. "Did Snyder rope you into this too?"

"Yeah," Xander replied. "He trapped G-man and Deadboy too."

"Really?" Ms Calendar asked, surprised. "I can't imagine Angel looking after kids."

"Neither can I," replied Xander. "Snyder made it worse though. The three of us have to wear matching costumes of all things!"

Ms C winced in sympathy.

"I take it you're thinking of getting these costumes then?" she enquired.

"Yeah," Xander replied. "I just need someone for the girl outfit. It looks too big for Buffy or Willow so that idea's out."

"Who has each costume?"

"Deadboy's gunna get the one with the white coat and G-man is gunna get the purple one."

"Really?" Ms C asked, a small smile beginning to spread across her face.

Xander noticed the smile and answered her, "Yeah, he wouldn't wear the other outfits and it looks like it'll fit him. Why do'ya wanna know?"

"Oh, if Rupert is wearing the magician outfit then how about I help you out. I'll wear the other costume." By this time the smile had stretched into a small grin. Xander thought about it for a sec and then a smirk managed to worm it's way onto his face.

"You are devious Ms C, completely devious!" he exclaimed, the image of Giles' reaction to the outfit firmly planted in his head. Now THAT would be a sight to see. He idly wondered if he could get a camera for tomorrow night. There was _definitely_ blackmail material to be had tomorrow.

"Can I help you two with anything?" came a voice from behind them.

The pair jumped and whirled from the costumes to find a man behind them. He looked about Giles' age and had an English accent.

"Don't do that!" Xander exclaimed. "Once a day is enough for me!"

"I'm terribly sorry for startling you," the man replied and unlike Ms C seemed to mean it. "I noticed that you have been looking at these costumes for a while now. Is there anything I can help you with? My name is Ethan Rayne by the way. I am the manager."

Xander studied the man for a while then answered the question.

"Yeah; Me and my friends have to wear matching costumes tomorrow and I was hoping I could get these."

Ethan Rayne looked at the costumes again and seemed to be thinking about something before he gave a nod and approached the dummies.

"Give me a hand with these," he said to the pair. "We'll take them into the back room and I'll get you the costumes. These are unique so you'll be the only ones that have them. Unfortunately that means we'll need to take them off the dummies and it took me a while to get the costumes on in the first place."

Together the three of them carted the dummies towards the back of the store. Rayne stopped them from entering the back of the shop though, claiming that it was a mess and that he'd take care of it from here. Xander and Ms Calendar waited outside the door for roughly fifteen minutes until Rayne came back through the door. He was holding four bags, each one clearly holding a separate costume.

Rayne handed one bag to Ms C and carried the others towards the till. The price was rung up and Ms C handed over the money.

Xander was next and he handed over the money that Giles had given him. He got his change and was surprised to find that he had forty dollars left over. Surely the costumes had cost more than that?

Xander and Ms C turned and headed towards the exit just as Buffy and Willow entered the shop. The pair looked around a little but didn't spot their friend or teacher. They headed straight for the girls section of the store and began hunting through the costumes. Xander noted with disgust that Buffy was ogling an eighteenth century noble woman outfit.

The bag laden pair managed to get out of the store before they were noticed and parted ways, one headed home and the other heading towards the school to deliver the costumes.

-o00o-

Xander entered the library roughly fifteen minutes later. All was quiet, non one was around except Angel and Giles who were sitting at one of the far away tables deep in discussion.

Xander approached them and Angel turned when he heard Xander's footsteps.

"Hello Xander," greeted Giles. "I trust you had a good trip?"

Xander nodded and Angel stood up and helped Xander carry the bags. The three of them headed over to Giles' office door and went inside. The room was lit by the electric bulb in the ceiling as the curtains were drawn and there was a stack of papers on the desk. Giles hastily cleared the papers away neatly and sat down. Angel and Xander did the same, sitting in the two chairs opposite Giles with the bags between them.

Xander lifted one bag into his lap and looked inside it. He quickly made sure everything was there before he handed the bag to Angel. He picked up another bag and handed it go Giles.

Giles and Angel looked at each other and then began to rifle through the bag that their costume was in.

They took each part of the costume out one piece at a time.

"Not bad," Angel commented as he studied the white trench coat.

"Indeed," Giles said as he studied the magician's staff. "What exactly are we meant to be Xander?"

"Not sure," replied Xander honestly. "They were a set in the store and they didn't have any labels or anything. There was another costume too, Ms C got that one."

"Jenny was there?" asked Giles in surprise.

"Yeah," Xander replied, a small smirk appearing on his face. "Her costume matches yours Giles. You two will look great tomorrow."

Angel chuckled slightly. This was going to be interesting, that was for sure.

-o00o-

Me: Well, that ends chapter 1

Kiara: not bad for your first fic.

Me: Thanks Kia. Damn, I never realised just how hard writing was gunna be.

Kiara: Suck it up Mira! You started this fic.

Me: Yeah, yeah, I know. Anyways, I hope you liked the fic folks! The next chapter should be up soon (I hope). I don't' know when I'll have time to work on it so it might be a while I don't' know.

Kiara: Feel free to ask us any questions you might have and we'll do our best to answer them without ruining the plot.

Me: If you guys _do_ review then it'll help me write faster and if you give me ideas I might be able to get this next chapter done faster so PLEASE review" Pretty please with sugar, ice-cream, chocolate, strawberries and sprinkles on top!!!!! I'll even add twinkies if that helps!!!!!

Kiara: Way to keep your dignity Mira.

Me: -sticks tongue out- like your any better around Seto Kaiba"

Kiara: -blushes- that's none of your business!!!

Me: Okay folks that's it. See you next chapter. Me and Kiara will be back as soon as we can so don't' worry your pretty little heads about it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2: The day before the Halloween Night**

-o00o-

Xander entered the library the next day to find Buffy and Willow sitting at a table deep in conversation. They didn't seem to have noticed him so he smirked and crept up behind them.

Normally Buffy's slay-dar would have picked him up easily but she was too busy talking to Willow to take much notice of her surroundings.

"BOO!!!" He exclaimed.

Both girls jumped about a foot off their chairs and whirled around to give him death glares.

"What was that for?" asked Buffy, clearly annoyed but whether it was with Xander for doing it or herself for not noticing wasn't clear.

"It happened to me twice yesterday," Xander told them. "I thought it was only fair that you two had it happen to you too."

Buffy kept glaring at him and Willow put on her 'resolve face'.

"Well," Willow said. "Don't' do it again Mister! We were having an important conversation."

"About what?" Xander asked them.

"Tonight," Buffy replied, her anger vanishing as she gained a dreamy look in her eyes. "I'm going as a noblewoman. I can't wait to see Angel's face when he sees me in the dress!"

Xander hid a groan. He should have knows, he really should have. Angel had told him and Giles about the time he was from and from what Xander had heard he wasn't that impressed with the woman. Sure they always looked good in old paintings but they really didn't have a clue. The woman were clearly only good for hanging off their husbands arm, looking pretty or for birthing children and that was no way to live in Xander's opinion.

"Can't wait to see you tonight then Buff," he replied, masking his emotions as best he could. "What're you gunna go as Wills? Casper again?"

"Not this year," replied Buffy in triumph. "I got her a _great_ costume!"

"Really?" Xander asked them, surprised. Willow hadn't worn anything other than a ghost outfit since they were six. The year before that she had made her own costume, worked really hard on it too. She'd made her own version of Wonder Woman's outfit. Willow had looked pretty adorable in it too. She's spent hours putting the thing together and what did she get for it? Laughter, that's what. All the other kids except him had gone and bought their costumes and made fun of her for making her own costume. She hadn't wanted to stand out since then so every year she just went as an average ghost, completely unremarkable in every way.

Buffy nodded her head to his question. "Yeah, she's gunna look great tonight!"

"Can't wait to see it," Xander replied.

"You can meet us at the Bronze after we're done with the kids, you can see the costumes then."

Xander didn't feel like telling them that Snyder had roped him, Angel and Giles into the costume thing as well, he wanted to see their reaction to the outfits tonight. He idly wondered what Buffy's reaction to Angel's costume would be. She probably thought that if he ever dressed up at all then it would be in an outfit for his time or something. She was gunna get the surprise of her life!

Just then Giles came into the library and headed towards the trio at the table.

"Good afternoon," he greeted them. "How has your day been so far?"

"Not bad," Buffy replied. "I'm actually starting to look forward to tonight."

"Really?" Giles asked, quite surprised. He'd expected his Slayer to be completely against the idea of looking after children on her one night off.

"Yeah, I got the perfect outfit!" Buffy told him. "You'll probably still be here later right? I'll show you then."

"I'll be here," Giles replied, again not mentioning the fact that he would actually be wearing a costume. He had to admit that he actually liked the costume Xander had picked out fir him. Granted, it was a little strange but the design and colour scheme were very nice. The staff was strangely enough the almost exact same colour as his eyes.

When Xander had shown him the other costume he had raised his eyebrows. The strange gold pendant had reminded him of something but he couldn't for the life hf him remember what it was. The eye in the middle had definitely caught his eye. It was remarkably similar to the Eye of Ra from ancient Egypt. The craftsmanship was magnificent, the gold looked real but it couldn't be. Who would include so much gold in a simple Halloween costume? He was definitely fascinated though and would be studying the inverted pyramid later on. He turned his attention from his musings and back to the conversation.

"Did you guys hear that some of the teachers are dressing up too?" Buffy asked them.

"I heard a rumour about it," replied Xander. That was perfectly true. He had heard the rumour this morning as he entered the school. He just decided not to mention that he already knew the rumour was true.

"I heard Ms Calendar was gunna dress up," continued Buffy, as if she hadn't heard Xander at all. "I wonder what she's going as."

"I suppose we'll find out later tonight if she does indeed dress up," replied Giles. He was quite curious as to what Jenny would be wearing himself. Although he had to admit that the smirk that had crossed Xander's face when he was telling Angel and himself about the costumes made him more than a little uneasy.

Just then the bell rang for the start of the school day. Buffy groaned and stood from the chair, draping her backpack over one shoulder and heading towards the door.

"See you guys later," she called over her shoulder. Willow picked up her things and scuttled after Buffy, leaving Xander and Giles alone.

"If you see Angel you might wanna warn him about Buffy. She's going as a noblewoman," Xander told the librarian.

"Oh, that's just wonderful," Giles groaned. "I can see the drama unfolding even as we speak."

Xander nodded in agreement and turned to head out the door. Just as he reached the doors he turned round to face Giles.

"Do you have a camera? I'd like to take some pictures tonight," Xander asked the older man.

"Why is that?" Giles asked him, becoming instantly suspicious.

"I just wanna get pictures of everyone in their costumes," Xander replied. "If Willow isn't going as a ghost I want proof later."

Giles studied the younger male for a while. He had a feeling that there was more to it then that but could't fathom what it could be. Finally he nodded.

"I do have a camera you can borrow. I'll retrieve when the school day ends and meet you back here with Angel. We can get ready then after you have your lesson."

Xander nodded and headed out the door. Now that a camera was procured he was sure that tonight was going to be a night to remember. Xander wasn't aware of just how right he truly was.

-o00o-

"Dru?" Spike asked her. "What the bleedin' hell are you on about?"

Dru had been dancing around the place for a while now, muttering to herself and singing as usual when she suddenly stopped dead and looked up at the ceiling in surprise, as if there was something there that Spike could knot see. He was used to this by now so he didn't comment on it until Dru started babbling about 'her kitten', 'daddy', the 'gypsy' and 'the ripper' being on the hunt tonight.

"Tonight there won't be a slayer!" Dru told him excitedly as she danced around him.

"Come again luv?" he asked her.

"No more slayer tonight," Dru said again. "Her head is going bye bye and another one came down from the sky."

Spike raised his eyebrows at that. What did that mean? On the other hand if the slayer wasn't in town…..

"We can have some fun tonight then." Spike said happily. Suddenly tonight seemed a little more fun.

"No, no, no!" Dru exclaimed. "Tonight isn't a good night to hunt. Bad things around that would hurt my Spikey."

"What bad things?" asked Spike. "The Slayer won't be here so what's to worry about?"

"The Pharaoh, the Priest and the Magicians!" she told him exasperatedly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"The who?"

"Didn't you hear them?" Dru asked him, knowing full well the he probably couldn't. "The stars are screaming it to me. It's hurting my poor head and Miss Edith isn't happy."

"I can't hear the stars Dru," he told her as patiently as he could. "What do the stars tell you?"

Dru looked up at the ceiling again and moved her lips slightly, as if having a silent conversation with someone that Spike couldn't' hear or see or smell.

"Tonight the Pharaoh will come back from the shadows with his high Priest and his guardian Magicians. They won't be the same as before. They'll be stronger. They are dark but they shine bright. They will try to take the darkness from us. We can't let them Spikey! We can't!!!" She was working herself into hysterics at this point, shrieking the last part.

"Easy Dru, easy," Spike crooned as he wrapped her into his arms, almost like a parent comforting their child after a nightmare. "We won't let them take the dark, I promise."

-o00o-

The school day seemed to pass in a blur for Xander. One minute he was in his first period class and the next minute the bell was going, signalling the end of the say. He picked up his old backpack and headed towards the library. The lessons with Giles were usually later when Buffy was out on patrol but there wouldn't be time tonight so they'd decided to do it earlier before they got ready to take the kids out. He couldn't believe that he was actually looking forward to tonight but the feeling had been creeping over him today, slowly taking over his senses so now he couldn't wait until the lessons were over and he was in his costume.

He reached the library without incident and entered the room. There was no one there except for Giles and Angel. Giles was sitting at a table with two practice swords lying side by side on it. One was slightly larger than the other and looked like it could be used for either one handed or dual handed combat. The other was smaller, more compact. It was clearly nly meant to be used with one hand. Xander recognised the swords from the previous day. They hadn't actually gotten around to the practice fight like they had intended to do. Buffy had returned earlier than they had expected so the lesson had been cut short. There wasn't any chance of that happening this time though, they had plenty of time.

"Good afternoon Xander," greeted Giles. Xander walked over to the table and began to study the swords up closely. They weren't that remarkable as they were only practice swords but according to Giles once they found the perfect match for him then he might be able to get his own sword. This idea had taken root in Xander's mind and had blossomed into a full blown flower by the time Giles had finished his speech about the different swords and styles. If he had a sword then he could be a great help to Buffy on patrol. He might even get good enough to go out on his own someday.

Back in the present Giles was talking him through how to hold the smaller sword, where to put his fingers and how tightly to grip.

Xander tentatively reached down and wound his fingers around the hilt. The fit snugly but not perfectly. Giles had explained that to him as well. When he got his own sword it would fit him much better. For now this was only for training purposes and so it didn't matter quite so much that the sword wasn't quite right for him.

He did exactly what Giles told him and slowly the older man guided him into a ready stance, feet apart, blade diagonally placed across his chest. Giles stepped back and corrected any flaws in Xander's posture before he picked up his own practice sword, the larger of the two.

Giles got into his own stance and they faced each other.

"Now," Giles began. "I want you not to hold back. You are a beginner so the only thing I am worried about at the moment is you accidentally hurting yourself through carelessness."

Xander nodded in understanding. Giles had told him stories about what happened to people that weren't careful while they were learning. Some had seriously injured themselves because they weren't paying attention or they were reckless. Xander was determined that that wouldn't happen to him.

"On my mark we'll begin," Giles said, raising his sword slightly. "Begin!"

Giles advanced swiftly and began to attack Xander with the sword, going slowly at first then building up speed as Xander got used to the sword and tried to block.

Xander parried the blows as best he could but some got through his defenses. He tried to return some of the blows but Giles parried with seeming ease. Of course he was used by much harder fights than Xander who was only a beginner. You don't train and Slayer and not keep up your skills after all. The fight lasted about twenty minutes. Xander had managed to land a few blows on Giles but they were very weak and wouldn't do much damage if they were in a real fight. Angel gave him some tips from the sidelines like to move his feet or to not put all his weight on one leg so often. Giles had been successful in hitting Xander numerous times though and Xander's arms were sore from the weight of the sword. Even if it was light-weight it was still hard to hold it up for so long.

"Not bad for your first attempt Xander," Giles complimented. "You need to work on your footwork and reflexes. I'll find you some katas to practice. They should help you make your moves more fluid."

Xander nodded and headed over to the table where the swords had rested before the lesson began. There were two bottles of water and Xander opened one and took a large gulp. Giles came over and took the other bottle into his hands and opened it. He took a gulp of water and placed the bottle back on the table. Xander did the same.

"I think that's enough for today," Giles said. "I don't want to start off too hard. Your body needs to slowly build up some strength so you can fight for longer periods of time. We'll practice your Latin for a while and then we'll get ready for tonight."

Xander nodded and the two of them put the practice swords back in the wepons vault in Giles' office.

For the next half hour Xander practiced Latin with Giles. Angel occasionally chipped in when he pronounced something wrong or needed a little encouragement. Xander was a surprisingly good student when he really wnted to be. He'd been pulling his grades for years now, it wouldn't look right if the 'zeppo' got good grades so he'd made sure that he only did the minimal amount to pass each test he got. When he really put his mind to it he was a gifted student, or si Giles kept telling him. Apparently languages was his strong poing although he couldn't for the life of him think why that could be. He'd flunked French when he was younger. He hadn't needed to fake that. He really _had_ been terrible in that class. Now he was learning Latin and according to Giles he was 'taking to it like a duck to water'.

Finally it was time to start getting ready. Angel decided to go first. He went into Giles office and changed into the outfit. It took him roughly ten minutes. Xander guessed that it was due to all the buckles on the outfit. He'd ahown Angel how they'd attatched to the outfit and how to wear the weird thing on his arm yesterday. Angel and Giles were both curious about the device but Xander had no clue what it was used for.

The three of them had also looked through the decks of cards that were in the holsters in the belt. The cards were pretty strange but Xander had to admit that he liked them. His deck seemed to revolve around spell casters if he was reading the text right. He'd even found pictures of Giles' and Ms C's costumes in the pack. He'd told Giles and showed him the card. Apparently Giles was going as the 'Dark Magician' and that would make Ms C the 'Dark Magician Girl'. He didn't tell thi to Giles though. I was looking forward to the reaction too much to spoil it now. Inside the deck were three strange cards, all different colours to the ones around them. One was a gold colour, another a crimson red and the last a darp sapphire blue. The blue card depicted a huge sapphire blue monster with large teeth and horns. The name on the card read 'Obelisk the Tormentor'. The next card, the red one showed a ferocious ruby red dragon. It was serpentine in nature an dhad two gaping mouths full of incredibly sharp teeth. It's wings stretched out and a large blue jewel glistened from it's forehead area. There was no way Xander wanted to be on the receiving end of that dragon. It looked like it had a _very_ bad temper. The name on the card read 'Slifer the Sky Dragon'

Last but certainly not least was the golden card. The picture showed another dragon but it seemed the complete opposite to the red deragon. Unlike the red dragon it was not serpentine. It had two arms and two legs, each looking incredibly powerful with large claws. This dragon seemed much more avian in nature with a peak like face. The wings looked almost like an eagles but with a matalic sheen to them. Come to think of it this dragon looked like it could be made entirely of gold. The name of the card explained it to Xander though. 'The Winged Dragon of Ra'. Under each picture a list of that cards abilities was switten as well as the attack and defense power of the monster. Monster cards were apparently the light brown coloured cards while magic cards ha d agreen colour scheme. Trap cards were a purpilish pink colour and ritual monsters like 'black luster soldier' were a deep purple. Xander had to say that he liked the different cards in the deck. They all seemed to pull together and support eachother.

Angel's deck was very different. His deck seemed centered around three dragons, all the dame. They were the 'Blue Eyes White Dragon' cards. Xander had to admit that they looked pretty impressive. This deck seemed a little more aggressive than Xander's deck with most of the monsters having attack points over fifteen hundred.

They had discovered that the cards fit into the slots in the device that attatched to the arm so it was obviously important somehow.

Angel stepped out of Giles's office and Xander turned his attention to the souled vampire. The effect was amazing.

Angel looked good in the outfit. The black of the shirt and trousers highlighted his pale skin and the contrast of the white coat was a very good effect. All the buckles were in the right place and the device was strapped to his arm. Angel stood tall and with the contact lenses in his eyes seemed to draw your attention. The deep blue underplayed with dark brown looked amazing, even in the dim light. Xander idly wondered what Angel would look like if he could go out in daylight in this outfit. The card shaped locket hung around his neck and Xander wondered if Angel might keep it. The thing actually opened and there was plenty of room for a picture inside. The trench coat billowed out fo it's own accord and Xander idly wondered if his outfit would look that good.

"How do I lool?" asked Angel.

"Great!" Xander told him honestly.

"The costume does seem to suit you rather well," Giles commented as he studied the souled Vampire.

"It's a good fit too," Angel replied. He was right too. Everything seemed to be tailored just for him. It was kinda freaky when Xander thought about it.

"I suppose I'll go next," Giles said and he picked up the bag with his outfit inside and headed into the office. Fifteen minutes later Giles exited the room in full magician wear. Again everyting was just the right fit for him, even the grip on the staff was perfect. Everything on his body was covered so no skin was visible except for his hands and his face. You could barely see his hair thanks to the hat. Xander and Angel glanced at him and Xander smiled. The outfit was perfect for Giles.

Xander stood up and took his bag into the office, it was his turn now. He quickly took off the clothes he had been wearing for school that day and dawned the trousers and the black/grey top. They were very confortable and easy to move in. Next he decided to put on the choker and the bracelets, again a perfect fit. Next came the belt with the deck inside, the weight of the cards conforting for some reason. He slipped the strange gold upside down pyramid shaped pendant over his head next, somehow it felt right having the thing around his neck, like it was meant to be there or something. It felt like a missing part of himself was back and he hand't even realised it was missing until that instant. It was a strange feeling but he pushed it to bhe back of his mind.

Next came the boots. Xander silently reflected that they were pretty cool. They were black and slightly pointed at the front but not overly so. They fit snuggle and were in no danger of strangling his feet or falling off because they were too big for him.

Now for the jacket. He slipped it over his shoulders but it didn't settle around his waist like he had expected it to. It flared out slightly like a miniature version of Angel's trench coat effect.

Last but not least he slipped in the contact lenses and strapped the device to his left arm, the added weight soothing somehow. His eyes stung a little from the contact lenses but he quickly blinked the moisture away and exited the library.

"So," he said as he entered the main library and faced Giles and Angel. "How do I look?"

"Nice," said Angel as he studied Xander in the outfit. The colour was a perfect match for Xander' sskin tone and the gold inverted pyramid which he would have said would look gaudy earlier seemed to compliment the rest of the outfit.

"Indeed," said Giles. "You look very good Xander."

"Do you have the camera Giles?" Xander asked the older man as he approached the pair.

"Yes," Giles replied. "I have it right here."

Giles reached into a drawer in his desk and took out a small camera. It was black and didn't look too remarkable but it would ge the job done.

"Why do you need that?" asked Angel.

"You'll see," was all Xander said. "Ms C is gunna be here in about ten minutes I think. She told me earlier that she'd meet us here before we go to the hall to get the kids. I say we take some pictures before she gets here."

"No!" Angel said immediately with Giles not so far behind.

"Come on!" pleaded Xander. "Just one each! You said yourselves that these costumes aren't that bad! Hell, Angel looks like he could go down the street in that outfit and no one would give him a second look!"

"Fine," Angel replied reluctantly. "But only one picture, clear?"

Xander nodded and lifted the camera. Giles talked him through how to use it.

Angel leaned against the table and folded his arms over his chest with the device covering a good portion of the outfit. That didn't bother Xander too much though so he snapped the picture.

Just then Xander heard the door open and turned to find Ms C coming into the library. In that outfit she looked amazing. The outfit clung to her form in all the right places and showed off everything that it could while still somehow still remaining decent.

Xander heard a choking noise from beside him and turned around to find Giles blushing furiously as he looked at Jenny Calendar. Xander grinned and quickly snapped a picture. Giles looked positively comical. Angel glanced at him and a smirk formed on his face. He knew why Xander wanted the camera now, that picture would be _very_ useful if blackmail was ever required. The fact that the purple of the costume highlighted just how red Giles's face had turned helped a lot too.

"Hello Rupert," Ms C said as she approached the three. "You look great in your costumes."

"Thanks Ms c," REPLIED Xander.

"I'm not your teacher right now Xander," she told him exasperatedly. "I thought I told you it was okay to call me Jenny outside of class."

"Sorry," Xander replied. "Force of habbit." Jenny nodded and turned back to Giles who had managed to gain some control of his blood flow as his cheeks had lost some of their redness.

"How do I look?" she asked him. Immediately his blush returned and Xander snickered while Angel's smirk grew a little.

Giles sent them both death glared and then turned back to face Jenny, disperately trying to regain control of his circulation.

"You look wonderful," he told her truthfully. Xander was amazed that he managed to keep control of his voice when he spoke.

"Thank you," Jenny replied.

"I'll take a picture of you two," offered Xander, holding up the camera;

Jenny looked at the camera then at Xander and back to Giles. She nodded and they stood side by side. Angel moved away so it would only be them in the picture.

"Say cheese!" Xander told them as he took the picture. Neither actually said it though and Xander sent a slight pout their way. Jenny just smiled at him.

"I think it's your turn Xan," said Angel. "We've all had our pictures taken, it's your turn."

"Okay," Xander replied, unafraid of the prospect of having his picture taken. He liked the outfit so he didn't really see the harm in having his picture taken. He leaned against the desk and crossed his arms like Angel had done earlier. The picture was taken and the four of them headed towards the PE hall. (That's the gym for anyone that doesn't say PE or Phisical Education). They would be assigned their kids there and then they would take them out.

They reached the hall soon enough and were relieved that they weren't the first people ta arrive. There were roughly twenty other people in the hall already except for the little kids of course. Xander spotted Larry dressed as a pirate and Cordelia as a black cat. That outfit looked _far_ too skimpy in Xander's opinion.

There was roughly twenty minutes to go before it was time to take the kids out at six O'clock. Xander couldn't believe how quickly the time had gone. Just then he spotted Buffy and Willow entering the hall.

Buffy was decked out in a pink and white noble woman dress with a black wig on her head. She certainly looked the part of a noble woman. Willow he was unsuprised to see was wearing her usual ghost costume. It covered her arms as well but Xander could see that there was probably something under the white sheet. So, Buffy had gotten Willow another costume but she'd hidden it. Oh well, at lwast she had put on the other costume.

The two girls looked around the hall and their eyes widened when their eyes caught sight of the quartet standing in the corner. They quickly made their way over to them.

"Why are you here?" Buffy demanded as she looked at the four of them. "And what are you wearing?!"

"Snyder dragged us into it," Xander replied, unimpressed by her temper tantrum. "And I thought it was obvious. We're wearing costumes."

"I can see that," Buffy replied through gritten teeth. "But what are you supposed to be?"

"Not completely sure," Xander replied nonchalantly. "Snyder said that we had to match our costumes so I got these from Ethans yesterday. You didn't see me go out of the shop when you came in. You were too busy looking at that dress."

Willow was busy looking over the outfits instead of fuming like Buffy wasy. Willow didn't know why Buffy was making such a big deal out of it. Sure they hadn't told them but maybe they had wanted to keep it a surprise. She was slightly annoyed that Xander hadn't told her though. They were supposed to be best friends.


	4. After teh masquerade

Okay folks! This is Mirani here. I hope your ready for this. It took me AGES to write this damn chapter! Now I know what writers block feels like. I don't' like it!!!!! Anyways, there isn't any thing specific you need to know about this fic I don't think so without anymore interruptions from this rambling author…..

LET THE CHAPTER COMMENCE!!!!!!!!!

-o00o-

**Chapter 3: After the masquerade**

-o00o-

Xander's head was pounding but he forced himself to ignore it as he slowly regained his feet. The last thing he remembered was falling to the ground after the statue of Janus was smashed. He looked around him. He, along with Angel, Giles and Jenny were in the back room of Rayne's shop. The room was in chaos thanks to the power released when the statue was shattered. Rayne had obviously slipped away while they were all unconscious.

He heard a groan to is left and turned to see Angel sitting up and rubbing his head. Did vampires even get headaches? Apparently they did because Angel was muttering something about getting the number of the bus that ran him over. Xander had to smile at that, same old Angel.

Giles and Jenny began to stir to his right and he moved over to help them to a sitting position while Angel stood and walked over to them.

"Well," Xander said after a moment of silence. "That was an interesting night."

Angel snorted at this. "Understatement of the century Xander," he said dryly.

"I agree," said Giles. "I believe the night was far more than simply interesting." Jenny gave a nod and rubbed her head.

"Can anyone else still remember everything?"

"From tonight you mean?" asked Giles.

"No," she replied. "I mean the memories of who we dressed up as. I can remember everything! From Egypt right up to the last duel I was in."

"You mean the last duel Dark Magician Girl was in don't you?" asked Xander.

"Well, it_ feels_ like I was the one that lived it!" she replied. "Can you remember anything?" she asked him.

Xander cast his mind inwards and studied his memories. Sure enough there was more than one set there. Instead of just his life he remembered the life of one 'Yugi Motou' and the life of 'Yami Yugi' otherwise known as the nameless Pharaoh of ancient Egypt who's real name happened to be Atem. The memories astounded him, no it went deeper than that. He couldn't explain it but it felt somehow right to have those memories in his head. It felt like he had actually _lived_ through all he remembered, as if these memories were actually his. He couldn't explain it.

"Yeah, I remember everything from Yami and Yugi's memories," he rumpled as he turned his mind back to the conversation. "How about you Angel?"

"I remember everything about Seto Kaiba," Angel replied, grimicing slightly. Kaiba had not had the best of lives up until the last few years when he met Yugi. Angel felt like he was reliving his own childhood when he remembered how Seto's step father treated him and his little brother Mokuba.

"I remember everyting about Mahad and the Dark Magician," continued Giles. "I must say that I am rather baffled. Once the spell ended all traces of it should have disappeared along with it. I can't understand why we can still remember."

"Do you think there's more to it?" asked Xander.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Giles.

"I mean, we have the memories but do we still have the powers? Can you or Jenny still use your dark magic attacks?"

Giles and Jenny exchanged looks and Jenny shrugged. She slowly got to her feet, her legs trembling slightly and raised her small staff. She pointed it at a random object in the room and called out, "Dark Magic Attack!"

A blast of light energy flew from the staff and hit the object with tremendous fource, sending the pieces flying.

"I guess that answers that question," said Angel dryly.

"Indeed," replied Giles as he slowly rose to join the other three in standing up. He reached around and rubbed the area where the base of his spine sat. Xander idly wondered if he landed awkwardly from the blast. He voiced his question but Giles waved it off.

"It'll be gone soon enough. It's not that bad really."

Xander nodded and turned back to Jenny and Angel.

"Well, if you guys can still use your attacks then that means that I should still be able to use shadow magic right?" Xander asked them.

Giles stopped rubbing his back and looked at Xander.

"It is a possibility," he said slowly. "You should be able to tell if you still have the ability. The puzzle is still around your neck so theoretically you should still have magic. I wouldn't recommend actually trying anything here though. It's best to wait till later."

Xander nodded and looked around the room again.

"Do you think we should have a look around?" he asked his companions. "There might be something here worth finding."

Giles, Angel and Jenny exchanged looks and all three nodded. The four split up and each went to a different corner of the room to search. The room was larger than it first appeared and it took them a good fifteen minutes to find anything.

"Come look at this!" exclaimed Jenny from where she was searching. The other three came over to see what she was so excited about.

Behind the table was a large box. This in itself wouldn't have normally warranted their attention but it was what was carved into the top of the box that made them pause. On top of the box was a symbol but not just any symbol. It was a mirror image of the symbol on the Millennium puzzle. The eye of Horus.

"Should be open it?" Jenny asked.

Xander shrugged in answer. "We'll never know what's inside if we don't." he reasoned and he reached forward to lift the lid. The box was really quite large. It was roughly three feet tall, three feet wide and three feet long, a perfect cube. Angel shrugged and helped Xander to open the box. The lid was set down and the four companions peered inside. What they saw surprised them.

Inside the box were six duel disks (the weird devices). Each was identical to the ones on Xander and Angel's arms.

That wasn't the strangest thing in the box though. The duel disks took up roughly a third of the box. In another part of the box, compartmented off from the rest sat the other six Millennium items.

Xander felt his breath catch in his throat as he stared down at the items. They were all there. The ring, the eye, the scales, the necklace, the key and the rod.

"Oh my," breathed Giles as he stared down at the golden items. As Mahad he could remember wielding the Millennium ring before he sacrificed himself to become the dark Magician and the ring was taken by that thief Bakura. He felt a stab of anger towards the thief king but whether it was his own or induced by the memories he couldn't be sure.

The items glistened in the dim light of the back room, still managing to look powerful and magnificent even when stuffed into a small compartment in a box.

Xander reached out tentatively and ran his fingers over the smooth surface of one of the wings on the head of the rod. He felt a small jolt go through his arm and he recoiled.

"What's wrong?" asked Angel in concern.

"Nothing," Xander answered him. "I just felt something when I touched the rod."

"Felt something?" asked Giles.

"Yeah, it was kinda like a small shock."

Giles reached out slowly and touched the rod in the same place Xander had. He received the same treatment so drew his hand away.

"Could it be the shadow magic?" asked Jenny. She wasn't going to put her hand on the thing. She remembered her life as Mana before she became Dark Magician Girl. She'd always been slightly intimidated by the items although she had never shown it.

"Most likely," replied Giles. "I doubt the rod will except anyone touching it but it's rightful master."

"And who would that be?" asked Angel.

"Do you really have to ask?" Xander asked him incredulously. "Think Angel! Who had the rod in the past?"

"The High Priest," replied Angel, still not getting it.

"And _who_ was the Priests' reincarnation?"

Angel opened his mouth to reply then shut it again as a look of understanding crossed his face.

"You think that…" he trailed off as he looked at the rod.

"It is a fair assumption that you are the one that is meant to hold the rod," stated Giles. "Give it a try. The worst that will happen is that you receive a small shock like Xander and I."

Hesitantly Angel reached out to touch the rod. Almost every instinct was telling him not to touch the thing. He guessed that those instincts came from the part of him that remembered the life of Seto Kaiba. Kaiba was a firm believer that the Millennium Items were nothing more than toys and didn't believe in magic in the slightest. Another part of him, the part that was Angelus was also screaming at him not to touch the thing. It was as if the demon inside him was scared of the thing or something. That was reason enough for Angel. If the rod scared his demon then there might be something to this. He reached out and wrapped his big hand around the shaft of the rod.

Immediately a warm feeling spread throuout his hand and up his arm to cover his whole body. He closed his eyes and focussed on the sensation, trying to pinpoint what it was. Whatever it was he could feel it engulfing him completely in it's warmth.

Suddenly a stab of pain erupted in his chest and he let out a small cry of pain. It felt like something was being wrenched out of him. He tried to resist it the best he could but the tugging continued. He heard a tortured scream from somewhere in the back of his mind. It sounded somewhere between a howl and a shriek of agony. He recognised it immediately as Angelus, his demon counterpart. He stopped resisting the tugging and the pain lessened immediately. He felt something being wrenched out of his chest and he slumped forwards.

He felt a pair of arms grab hold of each of his shoulders and heard gasps. He opened his eyes to see the other three looking at him with expressions of shock on their faces.

"What happened?" he asked them.

"When you held the rod you started to glow," started Xander.

"Then you started to scream," continued Giles. "It sounded rather painful."

Angel snorted at that. Trust Giles to underestimate something like that.

"Then I don't really know what happened," said Xander. "Something came out of your chest. I don't know what it was though. It was dark and kinda looked a little like a person. It went that way –pointing in a random direction- and disappeared in a swirl of purple smoke."

"Purple smoke?" asked Angel.

"I suspect it was shadow magic," replied Giles. "My only question is what was expelled from you. Can you feel anything different about yourself?"

Angel shook his head to clear it and focussed inwardly. He noticed what was missing immediately. It was so obvious he was astounded that he hand't noticed earlier. He opened his eyes and stared at his three companions.

"He's gone," he whispered. "Angelus is gone. I can't feel him in my head anymore."

"_What?!"_ was exclaimed by the other three in almost perfect harmony. They glanced at each other and then back at Angel.

"I know," he replied. "I can't explain it. I can just _feel_ that Angelus isn't inside me anymore."

"But, how is this possible?" questioned Giles, clearly trying to wrap his head around the idea.

"I think it was the shadow magic," replied Xander. "I mean, it could have sensed that Angelus wasn't a part of it's host or something and expelled it. It's possible right?"

"I suppose," replied Giles, mulling the idea over in his mind. "Even if that isn't the correct reason we at least have one less problem to deal with."

"Was it really a problem in the first place?" asked Xander in confusion. "I mean, it couldn't really do anything with Angel in control right?"

"Theoretically it couldn't," answered Giles. "But I have my speculations. There was been something I'm sure I have been overlooking. Something just doesn't feel right about the curse."

Xander noticed out of the corner of his eye that Jenny was looking pretty uncomfortable with this conversation.

"Care to share with the class?" he asked her. She jumped about a foot off the ground and Angel and Giles turned round to scrutinise her.

Jenny shifted uncomfortably under their gaze.

"What are you keeping from us?" Giles asked her gently. She looked down.

"We won't get mad," said Xander, trying to get her to open up to them. "Like it or not you're a part of this too and we can't keep any secrets. That'll just cause trouble later."

Jenny seemed to be thinking for a moment before she gave a tentative nod and began her story.

"Okay, promise you'll listen to the whole thing before you ask any questions or decide to hate me," she begged them. They all gave their agreement but Xander' suspicions went up slightly. She was really worried and that was not a good sign.

"My name isn't really Jenny Calendar," she began slowly. "It's Janna Kalderash." The effect was immediate. Angel stiffened, Giles stared at her with betrayal in his eyes and Xander, well Xander just kept watching her steadily.

"When Angelus attacked my clan the curse was put on him for revenge but the elders weren't satisfied with that. They heard that he would be coming here so they sent me to make sure the curse stayed unbroken."

"You mean that the curse could have been broken?" Xander asked her.

She nodded in silent conformation. "I don't know how though. All I was told was to keep him miserable, to make sure that he suffered for what he did to the clan."

"And getting close to us, befriending us, was that part of your assignment as well?" Giles asked her, his tone slightly bitter. Xander could tell that the older man was taking this rather hard.

Jenny, or was in Janna now? Anyway, she shook her head violently at this.

"That's not true!" she said with conviction. "I was supposed to stay away from you, to just watch from the sidelines and not get involved. I joined the group because I wanted to! Please, I'm telling you the truth Rupert. The only thing I lied to you about was my name. I've been completely honest with you otherwise. You didn't ask about my past and I never told you."

"You may not have lied but you never told me the truth either," Giles said, the bitterness still quite clear.

Janna hung her head in shame.

"I know," she whispered. "And I'm sorry for what I did. I never meant to hurt you, any of you."

She lifted her head and stared hard into Giles's eyes, trying to make him believe her. The contact between them stayed unbroken for a while before Giles spoke.

"I forgive you Jenny," he told her. "But it will take a while for you to earn my trust back."

She nodded at this, expecting it.

Angel continued to look at him, mixed emitions clear in his blue tinted eyes. He was clearly fighting an inner batter right now. Should he believe her and offer forgiveness or hold a grudge like Angelus would have. The thought of Angelus made up his mind for him.

"I forgive you as well," said Angel. He continued to stare at her. "But no more secrets."

"I can live with that," she replied, a small smile curving the corners of her mouth upwards.

"I say we get back to the matter at hand," said Xander, bringing the attention of the group back to the Millennium Items and the rod now clutched tightly in Angel's hands.

"Indeed," replied Giles. "How did Ethan get his hands on these in the first place? I can understand one, possibly two but all the Millennium items and eight duel disks? Where did they come from? From my memories I have to guess that the events we recall happened in a parallel dimension/alternative reality. How would it be possible for Ethan to retrieve these items?"

"That's not all that's in here," replied Xander. He was leaning over the box again. "There are a lot of cards in here."

The other three crowed around him and peered into the box. Sure enough inside the last compartment of the box were literally thousands of cards. They were devided into sections such as dark, light, water, fiend etc for monsters and magic and trap cards. There was even a section for fusion cards and the monsters needed to make them.

"Why does he have all of this?" wondered Xander out loud. "What good is ti having all this stuff?"

"Look there," said Janna. Sticking to the side of the box was a white envelope. There was writing on it. It was clearly hand written. The letters looped and swirled on the white paper, their dark emerald green a sharp contrast to the snowy whiteness of the envelope. It read.

_To the Pharaoh, the High Priest and the Magicians'_

"Do you think we should open it?" asked Xander warily.

Angel and Janna shrugged at the same time.

"It is addressed to us," said Giles. "Or at least the people that were meant to dress in these costumes. The least we can do is read it. If nothing else it might provide us with some clues to this mystery."

Xander nodded at Giles's reasoning and reached into the box and carefully took out the envelope. The paper was soft to the touch, softer than any paper Xander had ever come into contact with before. There was a strange scent about the envelope. It reminded Xander of the smell fo spices but he couldn't' be sure.

He turned the envelope over and saw a seal on the back. It was the Eye of Horus. He carefully skid his finger in between the fold in the envelope and carefully lifted the flap. Nothing happened so he removed the sheet of paper inside. The writing was the same, the same elegant hand and the same emerald green ink. Xander began to read with the others peering over his shoulder.

_To the Pharaoh, the Priest and the Magicians. _

_Greetings I am Janus. You must all have many questions, many of which I cannot provide the answers to but I will do my best. I will start from the beginning. _

_Millennia ago the world was created and the gods created to watch over it. At first we all existed in harmony, all trying to keep the balance between good and evil. You see there must be a balance. There can never be pure good or pure evil. Without one the other could not exis and carnage would spread. _

_Everything seemed to be going smoothly for us and the people of earth until one group decided that they wanted to take a more _active_ role in the keeping of the balance. You know this group as the 'Powers that Be'. They pretend to be peacekeepers, guardians of the light but in truth they are as manipulative as they come. They have orchestrated many a prophecy in order to keep what they see as balance in the world. They have manipulated many people for their own ends and many have died by their will. _

_It is thanks to them that the first demons and vampires entered the world. They crossed the border into the dominion of the beasts and took some from their dimension. They only took the fiend related monsters and the dark ones. They were the 'pure demons' that are written about. They introduced these creatures into this world for their own purposes. They wanted power and what better way to obtain it than to make themselves look like the good guys. The creatures that you face today are a mere shadow of what the originally summoned beasts were as you might be able to tell from your new memories.. Compared to them these beasts you face are no more than hatchlings._

_When the demons came the Powers that Be__ chose a champion, the Slayer. They created the 'shadow men' that the Watcher's council was founded on. They created the Slayer. _

_Throughout history there have been countless Slayers, all manipulated by the Powers that Be. They do not see their champions as living beings with feelings or hopes and dreams. They see them merely as pawns to use and control. This is why I granted my power for the spell tonight. _

_The Powers have forbidden me to meddle in the affairs of 'their champion' but they did not say anything about you. They want you under their control and they will do anything to gain that control no matter the risk to you or your loved ones. I cannot allow that to happen thus I gave you the power you will need to resist them and to keep the balance. _

_You may have the memories of the ancient ones but you are not them. Their choices do not bind you as your choices will never bind them. I have brought these items here for your use. There are people in this world that will have access to the shadows like you do. You must find them. On your own you are a formidable foe but together your power will be an incredible force. _

_I have chosen you and the future Item holders as my champions._

_I do not expect anything of you, no loyalty oaths nor any great favours. All I ask is that you keep doing what you were doing, protect this world from those that would seek to harm it. I chose you because I knew you could handle this responsibility. _

_Good luck my champions. May you find what you are searching for and never give up the fight, no matter how dark things may seem there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. _

There was complete silence in the group as they continued to stare at the letter in shock. This certainly was not what they were expecting.

"Well," said Xander finally. "This is unexpected."

Angel gave a derisive snort.

"Understatement of the millennia Xan," he replied.

"Well," began Giles. "At least now we have some answers."

"Not many," Xander pointed out. "There is one good thing though. I proved my point!"

"Which point?" asked Janny, confused.

"That the powers that be aren't as high and mighty as they're made out to be," replied Xander as if it were obvious. "I haven't liked them ever since that damn death prophecy for Buffy was dropped onto us like a bombshell. I bet they made up that prophecy so they could get rid of Buffy or something."

"Now that I think about it it _does_ make sense," replied Giles. "That prophecy was supposed to be centuries old correct? Then why is it that I found it in one of my later titled volumes? I had a strange feeling about that but just passed it off as a coincidence."

"If there is one thing I've learned from my memories," said Xander. "Is that there are never _any_ coincidences."

Angel nodded in agreement.

"What should be do now?" he asked them.

"I say we take this back to the library," suggested Xander. "We shouldn't leave it here and besides, we'll probably need it later."

Giles nodded in agreement and he and Xander replaced the lid on the box. Together Giles, Xander and Angel lifted the large box and headed out to the street and began the trek to the school.

It took them roughly fifteen minutes to reach the building. It would have taken them less time but the box was cumbersome and slowed them down.

They reached the library without any interruptions and placed the box in Giles's office. They separated for the night and agreed to meet first thing in the morning before school started.

-o00o-

The next morning Xander was up bright and early. He searched through his clothes but he couldn't find anything to wear. All his shirts suddenly seemed, well he couldn't exactly say what he felt about his clothes. They just didn't seem to appeal to him anymore. He guessed that it was Yugi and Yami's style kicking in. They had usually worn either black or dark blue. In the end Xander wore what he wore last night, Yugi's outfit, or was it Yami's? The coat flared so he presumed it was Yami's. It was quite hard to tell even with the memories. The only thing that he didn't wear were the bracelets, they just weren't his style. He kept the single armlet though that went around his upper right arm. He thought that it was pretty cool.

He trudged to the bathroom and brushed his teeth and looked in the mirror. What he say nearly made him faint. It was a good thing he didn't though. A thump would have definitely woken up his parents. He continued to stare into the mirror, completely shell shocked.

His reflection stared back at him but there were a few changes.

The first change Xander noticed was his eyes. Where before they had been a dark brown they were a deep amethyst colour, the same colour as Yugi's. Through the jewel like colour were specks of dark brown and the occasional streak of red near the pupil.

Another thing that caught his attention was his hair. Thankfully it had not changed to the point where it mirrored Yugi's stiky stile but it definitely had gone through some change.

Before his hair had been a dark brown, almost black but not quite. Now it was a very deep black, the colour of a starless and moonless night. His hair was tipped with red, like Yugi and Yami's hair had been. Thankfully his bangs were dark and not the blonde colour that Yugi's had been and his hair wasn't sticking up as much as the duelists but you could definitely notice the changes. Hell, you'd have to be almost blind not to notice them!

He stared at himself in the mirror for another five minutes before he could tear his eyes away from his reflection. If this had happened to him then what happened to the others?

He quickly returned to his room and picked up his bag, he needed to get to school and quickly.

He reached the school in almost record time and hurried to the library. He found that it was almost empty except for Giles and Angel who were talking in the stacks and Janna who was sitting near the computers typing.

All three turned when he entered the room and made his way over to them.

"Good morning Xander," said Giles. "How was last night?"

"Not bad," replied Xander. "Got a little shock though when I looked at myself this morning though."

"I suppose it would be a surprise," replied Giles. "I too received a shock this morning, as did Angel and Janna."

Xander took the time to study the other three now, sure enough there were some differences that he hadn't noticed before.

For one thing Angel was still wearing the trenchcoat and the rest of the outfit from last night. The only thing that was missing was the straps around his legs and arms. He still carried the duel disk on his arm and the belt around his waist. Xander couldn't fault the vampire for that. He had put on his own disk and carried the deck with him.

Angel's eyes had changed also. Before they were a dark greeny-brown colour but now they had turned almost completely dark blue like Kaibas. They were still darker than his and carrier slight traces of the brown from before but it was hardly visible. Xander studied Angels' face for any other changes and found none. The colour seemed to suit Ange though.

Next Xander turned his attention to Janna. The first thing that he noticed was that her hair had changed as well. Befoe it had been dark like his own but now it was a few shades lighter with some blonde streaks running through it. It was the same blonde as Dark Magician Girl's hair. Her eyes, which before had been a light blue were now a sparkling emerald green. All in all, Xander had to say that she looked stunning.

Last but not least he turned to Giles. Unlike the rest of them Giles's eyes hadn't changed colour. They were the same deep sea foam green that they had always been. There were other changes though. Xander noticed that the grey had had previously been in the older mans hair had receided and the hair was a light brown, the exact same colour brown as Mahad's before he was turned into the Dark Magician. There were also less lines on his face, as if the years had been peeled back to expose the younger man underneath.

"I think the changes are an improvement personally," said Janna. Angel nodded in agreement.

"What are the reactions gunna be though?" asked Xander. "People are gunna notice my hair and we can't hide the lack of wrinkles on Giles's face."

"Thank you for that Xander," said Giles dryly.

"Sorry," replied Xander.

"Well," sighed the librarian. "We can just say that you and Janna decided you wanted a change. It is the truth I suppose as we have changed slightly since last night as Angel's and Your appearance can attest to." Giles indicated their appearance and Xander nodded in agreement.

"For some reason the first think I thought about when I woke up this morning was that I wanted to duel someone," confessed Xander.

"Same with me," replied Angel.

"That is only natural," replied Giles. "Yugi and Kaiba were so focussed on Duel Monsters. It is only natural that that particular trate was passed onto the two of you."

Xander pulled out his deck and began to shuffle through it.

"I was thinking," began Xander. "Since we can duel now should we maybe change our decks slightly? We aren't Yugi or Yami or Kaiba so we shouldn't use their decks, or at least not a complete copy of their decks. We should add in our own cards to make the decks more personal."

"That's actually a good idea," replied Angel as he took out his own deck. "I looked through my cards last night and some of them just don't feel right to me."

"We can discuss this later," replied Giles as he looked up at the clock. "Perhaps it would be best if Xander left his duel disk here today. You and Angel can go through the cards from Janus later today after school is done. We'll discuss what to do with the Items then and remember, not a word to either Buffy or Willow."

"Why not?" asked Janna in confusion.

"I just think it's best if we sort the situation out ourselves before we reveal it to them," replied Giles. "Buffy has been acting different lately. The possibility that we might have a power that she doesn't have might intimidate her."

"Or just make her made," replied Xander. Giles threw him a look but he ignored it.

"Alright," said Janna. "But you'll have to still call me Jenny Calendar around them."

The other three nodded in agreement and Xander slipped his duel disk off his arm and handed it to Giles. The older man took it carefully and placed it within the confines of his office.

The four said goodbye before Xander headed out of the library. As he walked through the halls of the school he heard his name being called. He turned around and found Willow and Buffy coming towards him.

"Hi Xander!" Willow exclaimed when she finally caught up to him. She didn't seem to have noticed his hair or eyes yet noted Xander gratefully.

"Hiya Wills," he replied easily.

"Why didn't you tell us that you were looking after the kids yesterday? And why didn't you tell Buffy about Angel? She wanted to match him."

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Xander replied honestly. "And Deadboy didn't want Buffy to know. He planned on just slipping out before anyone recognised him."

2He had a cool costume," Willow admitted. "I don't get the trench coat though, it was weird."

Xander couldn't fault her logic in that. The gravity defying trench coat was a little strange but he couldn't lie and say that the coat didn't suit Angel or Kaiba.

"Why are you still wearing that outfit though?" Willow asked, taking in his appearance, or at least his clothes.

"Didn't have anything else I wanted to wear," Xander replied. It was the truth after all. All his other clothes didn't appeal to him anymore but Willow didn't need to know that. "Besides, I kinda like it."

Willow frowned at him but didn't comment.

Buffy hadn't come up to them yet and Xander turned around to see her talking with a strange boy about their age. (can't remember Fords description but you guys know what he looks like)

Willow followed his gaze and the pair moved over to Buffy.

"Hi guys!" greeted Buffy. "This is Ford. Me and him used to go to the same school before I moved here with Mom."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Willow," said Willow politely and stuck out her hand. Ford shook it and gave her a smile.

"Xander Harris," said Xander. He shook Ford's hand like Willow had done and he suddenly felt a wave of something wash over him. He recognised that feeling from somewhere but where?

"Cool Hair," Ford commented.

"Thanks," replied Xander. He didn't really care what the guy thought of his hair.

Just then the bell rang and they separated to go to their slasses.

"I'll see you guys later," Ford called over his shoulder.

"Bye!" called Buffy after him. Xander just grunted. The feeling he got from the guy was making him uneasy. He decided to talk to Angel and Giles after school when Buffy and Willow weren't around.

-o00o-

AN: Hi guys! I hope you guys liked the chapter! It's not as long as I would have liked but what're you gunna do when writers block smacks you hard on the face with a wet fish?

Anyways, I don't' know when the next chapter will be posted. The next chapter or two is gunna be harder for me to write so it'll probably take longer, plus we're moving in a few weeks so that'll probably cause some problems but I'll update as quickly as I can.

Just remember, story pluss reviews equals Harry author.

The next 10 people that review can ask any question they want and I will answer it, even if it ruins the suprises for later.

Bye until next time!

Mirani


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